There's a few things that jumped out at me. First is the use of calcium hypo, then muriatic acid, then pH Up.

Calcium hypo is a good source of chlorine, but it has a pH level of 12. Each time you use it the pH will slightly increase. Then you're using muriatic acid to decrease the pH, then pH up to increase it. This is burning a hole in your wallet.

If you're having an issue with the pH jumping around, use liquid chlorine and keep the alkalinity between 80 - 100ppm. This will lock it in place. You can also use unscented bleach for chlorine. It's the same thing as pool chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, only about 1/2 the strength.

On May 25 the pH was 7.6. That was a good reading. If the next pH reading is around 7.4 - 7.8 leave it alone. Only decrease it if it gets above 8.0.

Next, you can use baking soda or 20 Mule Team Borax to increase the pH. Baking soda is also used to increase the alkalinity, it's just how you apply it that matters if it hits the pH or alkalinity.

Anything called pH Up or Alkalinity Up is either sodium carbonate or sodium bicarb which is baking soda. Go to your grocery store and get a box of Arm & Hammer for 1/3 the price.

It seems the reason the chlorine isn't holding is you don't have enough stabilizer, cyanuric acid (CYA). The CYA needs to be between 30 - 50ppm. Use Dichlor and shock the pool. You should be able to get Dichlor chlorine at your local pool store. This will get the CYA into the pool.

Once you get a CYA reading of 30 - 35ppm, stop using Dichlor and go back to liquid chlorine for weekly maintenance. CYA reading should be between 30 - 50ppm. Your'e already using Trichlor pucks which is dosing your pool with CYA so you want to start low and work up from there.

Don't shoot for 50ppm CYA with the Dichlor, stop at 30 - 35ppm.

Be careful when using Dichlor as it can get out of hand quickly. For every 10ppm of chlorine added with Dichlor, you'll raise the CYA by 9ppm. For every 10ppm of chlorine added with Trichlor tabs you'll raise the CYA by 6ppm.

Shock at night then retest in the morning. Keep filtering 24/7. As the CYA starts to rise you'll notice the chlorine will hold longer. Remember to allow for 1 full turnover of the water before retesting.

If you make an adjustment then retest after an hour you're not going to get an accurate reading. A turnover is normally about 8 - 10 hours.

You're doing a great record keeping job. You're notating everything and looking for patterns. That's 1/2 the battle.

If you need immediate assistance (within 24 hrs) or for emergency personal assistance, you can make a donation of your choice and I'll answer your questions by phone.

Phosphates are food for algae, but, if you keep the chlorine level between 1.5 - 3.5ppm, the algae will be killed by the chlorine.

Good chlorine level = no algae or bacteria. It doesn't matter the level of the phosphates. I would advise you to NOT get a phosphate remover. It's an added expense and something your pool doesn't need.

You can have a phosphate level up to 1000 and it'll be fine. You don't need to buy any more chemicals. Just drain and refill, keep the CYA between 30 - 50ppm and chlorine between 30 - 50ppm.

Some items you can find the grocery store to balance your chemicals such as bleach, baking soda, and 20 Mule Team Borax.

When I did my pool route in Arizona I would raise the chlorine level up a bit, when needed, to about 5.0ppm or so. This was to carry the chlorine level throughout the week until I could get back the following week. The CYA (cyanuric acid/stabilizer) must also match the chlorine level. By this I mean it needs to be in range, 30 - 50ppm CYA and the chlorine is 7.5% of that level.

A normal home pool requires the chlorine level to be between 2 - 4ppm and the CYA between 30 - 50ppm. If you bring your chlorine level up to a true shock of 10Xs the normal chlorine level, say 10 - 12ppm, you'll also need to raise the CYA. At a chlorine level of 10ppm, the CYA would need to be 75ppm. If you use Trichlor pool tabs. your pool CYA is being slowly added to the water. This will eventually raise the CYA, but too much and the chlorine sanitizing properties will be compromised.

There's too much of a fluctuation in the readings for the chlorine to do its job correctly. Granted, your chances of algae or green pool water would drastically decrease, but I think you'd be wasting more money than you're actually saving. Swimming pools aren't a "set it and forget it" proposition. It is called "pool maintenance" for a very good reason.

I would normally add either a pound or gallon of pool chlorine to my pools about every other week. This was even when the temperatures reached 105 - 110 degrees for weeks at a time.

If I did a shock every week, for every pool on my route, my chemical bill would be so outrageous it would have probably put my out of business. If you like to swim, as I hope most people do who visit this website, they'll need to wait longer to swim because of the high chlorine levels.

When you start getting over 6.0ppm your skin can become very itchy and dry due to the excess chlorine. Not to mention the red eyes. I would be very cautious of someone telling you that you can simply do something once with your pool, forget about it for a week, and it'll be o.k. No need to worry about it.

What I'm telling you is from years of real world experience, a pool route of 50 residential and commercial pools in one of the hottest parts of the country, Arizona.

Also the YMCA pool operator for the last 3 years. Everything on this site...I've personally done. From help with construction, to plumbing, to installation, to chemical readings, to cleaning, to ordering, billing, collecting, to whatever...

I've actually drained a pool 1/2 way, hung upside down with my uncle holding onto me, rewired and installed a new pool light when it was 108 degrees. Yeah. Fun times. I was a little younger and more flexible back then.

It's my opinion that the chlorine level should be kept between 1.5 - 3.5ppm, CYA 30 - 50ppm, and all chemicals tested once, if not twice per week. This is the tried and true method of taking care of pools. Many pool owners and pool guys have done this for years with much success. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

Thanks again. I hope this helps and have a great and safe swimming season.